GEORGIA: OSCE COUNTERTERRORISM WORKSHOP

UNCLAS TBILISI 002168 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR EUR/RPM (ROSS TAGGART/RICHARD PROSEN/ERIC STONE),S/CT (SHARRI CLARK/DON KURSCH),USOSCE (ANDREW HYDE/JULIE RASCHKA) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OSCE PREL PTER GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: OSCE COUNTERTERRORISM WORKSHOP RECOMMENDED PARTICIPANTS REF: SECSTATE 115646 ¶1. (SBU) In response to reftel, Embassy Tbilisi would like to put forth one primary and one alternate name for consideration to attend the 11-12 February 2010 OSCE counterterrorism workshop in Vienna. Either candidate would strongly contribute to an effective environment for discussion on the pressing issues to be reviewed at the workshop. ¶2. (SBU) Primary Candidate: Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs for Special Operations, Shalva Janashvili: Mr. Janashvili serves as Georgia's chief law enforcement officer under the Minister of Internal Affairs for all Georgian significant infrastructure, such as pipelines, hydro-electric plants, and strategic resources. Additionally, he is the chief of Georgian emergency response services, such as those which would respond to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other incidents as directed by the minister. Mr. Janashvili serves as the chief for all Georgian MOIA special operations units, which play the most visible and important role in Georgian CT operations. ¶3. (SBU) Alternate Candidate: Deputy Chief, Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs Anti-Terrorism Center (ATC) Zurab Maisuradze. Mr. Maisuradze is the deputy chief of the primary internal security service unit that combats terrorism in Georgia, and works with the USG in carrying out these duties. Seeking to detect and deter terrorist threats in Georgia, the ATC from which Mr. Maisuradze carries out his managerial duties is an essential part of Georgian internal security and its successes in recent years against Islamic extremism and terrorist transit through Georgia. BASS